Connecting Japan Vol.2: Parallel Currents Between Indonesia and Japan
Connecting Japan Vol.2 presents the theme “Parallel Currents,” an attempt to read the artistic currents of Indonesia and Japan through the exchange of ideas, cultural practices, and collective imagination.
This initiative is organized by CCC, an institution that works to build a collaborative ecosystem within the arts. Through exhibitions, public programs, and cross-country exchanges, CCC works with artists and communities in Indonesia, Asia, and beyond. Its focus is to create spaces where diverse creative approaches can meet, strengthen dialogue, and open possibilities for shared experimentation.
Vol.2 continues the series that began with Sir Dandy in the first edition. This installment features three Japanese artists: DISKAH, MOZYSKEY, and Lui Araki. Each artist arrives with a different background yet moves from the same landscape of Japanese urban life and street culture, particularly skate and graffiti.
DISKAH began his practice within Tokyo’s street and skate culture. He works in a spontaneous manner, presenting recurring motifs such as Kaijyu, SONONAMO, and Killy Bird. These characters feel familiar at first glance, yet beneath them lies an unease and an observation of social realities. By cutting and reconstructing fragments of past moments, his works invite viewers to reconsider memory and personal experience.
MOZYSKEY has been active since the 1990s and is known for his role in the development of Tokyo’s graffiti scene. He explores forms that grow out of tagging, blending alphabets, kana, and kanji to the point where they exceed legibility. Through this approach, he challenges function and system while presenting the ethos and aesthetics that emerged from the underground graffiti culture in Tokyo. His works appear across various platforms, from public spaces and museums to fashion.
Lui Araki, born in Kobe, is a professional skateboarder and photographer. He has been part of ZOO YORK since the late 1990s. Araki always carries a film camera with him, whether traveling in Japan or abroad. He captures landscapes, portraits, and everyday scenes. He prints his photographs in his home darkroom, maintaining the quality and intimacy between the image and the analog medium.
Connecting Japan Vol.2 is grounded in the idea that Indonesia and Japan share parallel narratives. Both are archipelagic nations with histories shaped by mythology, rapid modernization, and postwar or postcolonial experiences. Both also face contemporary issues such as urban challenges and shifting identities in the digital age.
Through collaboration among artists, curators, and thinkers from both countries, the program creates space for co-creation, deeper conversation, and the meeting of cultural practices shaped by different contexts yet driven by the same sense of curiosity.
Connecting Japan Vol.2 takes place on 7–23 November 2025 at spaCCCe Jakarta, Grand Wijaya Center Blok C no.22.
